Radiating Beauty through Health

Part of beauty, in my opinion, is fitness. A healthy, strong body is one of the main things that can help a woman look her best.

Now, I'm not perfect to be speaking about this, but I do have experience with a journey toward health. A little more than two years ago, when my now husband proposed to me I had a long way to go. I knew that I needed to lose a significant amount of weight. Not just so I would look fantastic for my wedding day--but because I knew it was paramount for my health. Being overweight (especially as significantly as I was) sets you up for all sorts of terrible illnesses, and when I said "'til death do us part" I wanted to make sure it would actually be awhile. Since then I have lost over 60 pounds, and then unfortunately regained a bit of it upon our move to Texas and my introduction to all the amazing Mexican food...I've been working on getting back to that point, and then I have about another 40 pounds to go. Not many people will argue that a fit woman is a beautiful woman--but being good to your body can help other aspects of beauty too--including your skin.

One of the very important things with getting healthy is hydration. Our bodies are largely made up of water.  Products that promise increased concentration, higher energy, and a boosted metabolism fly off the shelves and are ordered online in the U.S. every day. You may have even recently purchased a product promising such results---but drinking the recommended quantities of water can provide the exact same benefits. Better still, it's free! I find I drink the most water when it's out of a water bottle as opposed to a glass. I'm not really sure why, but I've learned to embrace it. I rarely buy bottled water (if I do, I'm sure to recycle!) but instead I tote around a reusable BPA-free water bottle, so I can wash it and use it again. (BPA is a chemical used in many plastic food and beverage containers that can leach into the food or beverage it contains and is suspected to cause health problems as a result). I personally use a Kor One hydration vessel. It has a pretty great design, fits a large amount of water---has a wide mouth to allow for ice cubes to fit easily, has a hinged lid that you can't lose, and even has a spot for you to store your own motivational messages. I also like that the company gives a percentage of proceeds to water charities. The bottle is big and can be particularly bulky so another neat option is the Vapur rollup water sack. It's a reusable water "sack" instead of a water bottle--because it is completely flexible, it can fold almost completely flat or be rolled up to fit in your purse---but when full can stand completely upright. This is fantastic for traveling since it takes up virtually no space, and even comes with a little carabiner so you can clip it to a back pack or gym bag. Always having water with you is a great way to ensure you'll drink more of it. Also if regular water is unappealing to you, you can try sparkling water. My husband and I love our SodaStream system. You order your own CO2 cartriges and can create your own sparkling water (or even soda) at home. You can also add cucumber, citrus juice, or fresh fruit to your sparkling water to jazz it up further. Because you're making it at home, it eliminates waste generated from buying glass or plastic bottles or aluminum cans of it in the store--even if you recycle them, energy and resources must be used to recycle them--making it at home and reusing the bottle is much more environmentally friendly.

You are what you eat. I also try to eat as many whole and unprocessed foods as possible. When I cook dinner (which is about 85% of the time) I like cooking "clean". Clean Eating is essentially eating as much organic, unprocessed, and whole foods as possible. That said---I do as much as I can without stressing out about it. But my husband and I typically choose fresh fruits and vegetables (opposed to canned or frozen) as well as fresh cuts of meat and fish, and usually organic whole-wheat varieties of pasta.  I often cook recipes found in Clean Eating Magazine which is a fantastic source of some beautiful recipes that we really love to eat and have become dinnertime staples in our family. Also, since a new issue comes out bi-monthly it keeps us from getting in a rut because there are always new recipes to try.

I've also become a pretty big fan of Bethenny Frankel, who rose to fame from her participation in The Real Housewives of New York City. She is also a natural foods chef and author of books Naturally Thin and The Skinnygirl Dish. I have recently read both of her books and the tips and tricks she presents for losing weight and/or staying thin just simply makes sense. Many of them are things that you already know, but she gives you some practical solutions to make actually doing them easier. 

Bethenny also supports eating what she calls "real food" which falls pretty well in line with clean eating principles. She also has some fantastic recipes including some re-made versions of banana bread, and even cupcakes which are phenomenal. She substitutes your normal refined all-purpose flour with oat flour and most refined white sugar with raw sugar. I'm not saying these dessert recipes are good for you, but if you want something rich or sweet these are significantly better than what you may be used to. A healthy, balanced diet ensures that you have all the vitamins and other nutrients your body needs to replicate cells normally, and actually affects your skin in more ways than you may imagine. My post next week will delve into more specifics on that.

Sweat for success. In addition to eating with your health in mind, exercise is also key. That doesn't mean that you have to be stuck in the gym all the time--but finding some activities you really enjoy--playing sports like soccer or tennis, hiking--even if your "hiking" is just around local museums or parks, bike riding, going out dancing, etc. I do tend to go to the gym because I don't have an incredibly active lifestyle, but I try to change up my workouts to keep things interesting. I also really enjoy Yoga. You can go to gyms or yoga studios on the occasion or even buy a membership if it's something you find you really like.

A few of my favorite things to do to keep things interesting, but also affordable:

If you have "on Demand" try going to the "free" section then the "Health & Fitness" Section and select "Exercise TV". These are free to view and are sub-categorized in types of exercise, duration of the video, sometimes the trainer doing the video, or even the muscle groups the video targets. They are typically available for a few weeks at a time--and then they are replaced with new videos. It's a great way to give some of them a try before committing to buying them--or if you're like me, you won't buy any of them---you'll just do it for as long as it's up and then find a new favorite.

If you are lucky enough to live close to a Lululemon Athletica, a high-quality fitness apparel store, they often host free fitness classes using personal trainers and fitness instructors that have gyms or studios in close proximity to the store. I've been making a point to go to many of them lately. The one here in Houston is located in Highland Village and also co-sponsors a run club that meets on Tuesdays at Brian O'Neills pub in Rice Village. If you click on the link there, you'll see the current schedule of free classes---in the month of November it is a series of Pilates Mat classes on Sundays at 11 a.m.. They end up having a lot of yoga classes or classes that incorporate yoga poses in them. Last week they also threw in an additional "Boot Camp" class on a Wednesday. 

In addition to the beauty benefits that come hand-in-hand with a great-looking body, sweating rids the body of toxins, and the rise in your body temperature also helps with circulation. Taking a nice, cool shower helps to bring the body temperature back down, and further improves circulation--which aids in glowing, fresh skin.

Just kick back and relax. Last but not least, you definitely need rest. If you are exercising, resting is especially paramount. Your body must repair and takes the time you sleep to generate new cells all over the body--muscle cells, and even skin cells. Appropriate amounts of sleep are definitely reflected in your appearance. Mainly, it increases your energy making you seem perkier overall (an energetic woman is much more beautiful than one who is dragging her feet all day), but it also prevents things like those terrible bags under the eyes from forming in the first place. 

Get Relief. Really take time to de-stress. In addition to sleep, it's also very helpful to address levels of stress by taking some time for yourself to do something relaxing that you truly enjoy--reading a book, going for a leisurely walk, baking, painting, etc. Stress greatly affects your body and your skin. Increased levels of stress cause your androgen hormones to spike. Androgens are your male hormones responsible for oil and hair production (thanks guys...ugh). When your androgen levels increase, oil production does too. Not only that, but studies have proven when stress levels are up, your immune system is also not as strong. Combining a weakend immune system with increased oil production is an excellent recipe for breakouts.

Keeping you beautiful (and well) one post at a time!

Kate Block